My Surprise Trip to Manchester

Something I wasn't expecting on my graduation day was a trip to Manchester. My boyfriend Paddy really did surprise me with this one, he seriously is a keeper. He had everything all booked and the whole weekend planned out for us. It was so nice not having to worry about flights, that was already sorted. We flew over to Manchester with Ryanair, from past experiences I repacked my bag a million times to make sure it wasn't overweight. Thankfully it wasn't, I downsized my makeup bag so much for the trip, I literally brought the necessities and I'm glad I did it freed up so much space.

This was my fourth time going to Manchester and it is one of my favourite cities. There's so much to do over there and the people are extremely friendly. Of course the shopping is amazing too. It wouldn't be a trip to Manchester without visiting the Trafford Centre. Thankfully Paddy is one patient guy and he didn't mind strolling through all the shops with me. We must of spent pretty much the whole day there and himself being the gentleman carried all my shopping. Luckily we also came to Manchester at the right time as their Christmas Fair had just started that weekend. I've been to a couple of Christmas fairs in Dublin but this one was so much better. Walking around town made me feel so Christmassy! I really enjoyed checking out all the different stalls, I could literally do that all day. I was really impressed with this sweet stall, I couldn't leave without a picture. 

On Sunday we went to the Phones4U arena (will always be the MEN to me) to see Vampire Weekend and Noah & the Whale. Paddy and I love both of these bands and it was so amazing to see them live. I've been to this venue twice (Taylor Swift & Morrissey) and it's my favourite. It's really easy to get to and we've always had amazing seats everytime we've gone. The gig lasted for about two and a half hours, for the whole duration we didn't stop singing along to our favourite tunes. Paddy introduced me to Vampire Weekend and Noah & the Whale when we started going out almost five years ago so this gig was really special for us.

I couldn't pick one highlight from this trip as there was so many of them. I had such an unbelivable time, I'm so lucky to have such an amazing boyfriend. It was such a nice break from work, kinda sad to be back now. I definitely came back with a much heavier suitcase than what I went with. I guess somethings never change eh? I'll be putting up a haul post really soon on here as I did pick up some gems whilst I was there. I'm really hoping to take another trip to Manchester in the New Year I always have such an amazing time in that city.

What is your favourite holiday memory?

Laura<3